Newton’s Notes

why? why? why — don’t people pick up after their animals?

Ok, so I don’t have a pooch (despite the title of this blog) but if I did, I would pick up after it. I would not let my dog do his business in someone else’s yard and leave it there. 

The other day, I was carrying some stuff into my house, and I cut across the grass… I don’t have a dog, so forgive me for assuming my yard would be poop-free… IT WASN’T… and you can already guess my next sentence.

I stepped in it — wearing flip flops! Now that is a CRAPPY feeling (literally).

I don’t think it’s too much to ask of pet owners, to just carry around a little poop baggy, and when Fido finds a nice spot to do ”the do”.. just PICK IT UP please.

 Unitl then — I will be watching for you.

That’s according to one of the photographers I work closely with, who for the purpose of this blog, I should mention is black.

Kevin and I talk a lot about food… Despite my smaller frame, I eat A LOT… and I enjoy eating the foods I grew up eating.

It just so happens, I grew up on fried chicken, collard greens, enchiladas, menudo, beans and rice.  My mom made each meal with culture! To this day, that woman is a great cook, she never uses a recipe, and knows how to make just about anything… Because of my upbringing, I have a love for both soul food and mexican food… unfortunately, I’m quite different from her in one way… I CAN’T COOK!

This is by far the best part about working the morning shift…

Before joining the NBC5 team, I wouldn’t have considered myself a “morning person”… In fact, I went years without ever seeing a sunrise… but now everyday, about halfway through my shift, I get a special present…

For those of you who miss out on this beautiful act of nature, wake up early one morning, step outside and bask in the beauty of the sunrise!

While you’re up, tune into NBC5 Today —   (Sorry, I can’t help but plug our show!)  

A coffee pot with a timer, dark curtains in the bedroom, and a great undereye concealer…

Without those three things, I would be grouchy, sleepy and ugly…

I would have to be a robot not to be affected by the story I covered yesterday, and today. 

http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=228221

Two young boys were thrown from a bridge into rush hour traffic… While she hasn’t been convicted yet, police say the boys’ own mother tossed them off the overpass.

I have read many of the comments viewers have posted on our website… and just like you, this story breaks my heart.

A question I get asked all the time, is “how do you do it?” Reporters see so many bad things firsthand, even my own family asks me how I keep it together… We are people too, and we feel the same shock, horror, and empathy for those whose tragic suffering puts them in the spotlight.

I was in utter disbelief yesterday morning that a mother could harm her own children in such a terrible way. These type of stories are by far, the hardest for me to cover. As an aunt to seven beautiful children, and as a human, it hurts me to report on bad things happening to kids.

I used to wear cute shoes to work everyday… that, of course, has changed since I first got into this business. 

I admit, I love shoes, and own quite a few pair — from the traditional to the funky… but chances are you won’t ever see me in them at work.

I have ruined so many shoes, covering floods, fires, bad weather, and various different stories… For awhile, my closet looked like a cemetary for shoes that died too soon… Many of them were no longer available in stores, so I couldn’t replace them with the exact same pair.. and it also got really expensive constantly buying new ones…

So, I’ve learned my lesson… I wear the same not-so-nice pair of black or brown pumps or boots everyday.. and I save my favorites for the weekend! So please, if you ever see me out covering a story, don’t look at my feet.

I wish Barack Obama’s wife would stop calling me! To be honest, I don’t even know how she got my number.

Many of you with a landline phone may have also gotten the same prerecorded message from Michelle Obama asking you to vote for her husband.

I wonder, seriously, how many of these phone calls actually change someone’s mind, or sway the vote… To me it’s just annoying… I realize all of the candidates probably do it, it just so happens it’s Michelle who keeps calling me.. so Michelle, please stop.

thank you!

Living in North Texas, storms are a part of life.. so naturally, covering them is a big part of being a reporter.

It’s a rainy, cold, windy job, but somebody’s got to do it.  You see, I have a love/hate relationship with severe storms.

I love chasing weather… following storms, looking for funnel clouds, hail, flooding, ice, and other crazy acts of nature… but when it comes to standing out in the rain, looking like a drowned rat on t.v. — it’s a whole other story… No matter how much rain gear you have on, you end up soaked!

 I just got to say, thank goodness for waterproof mascara and ponytail holders!